O’Driscoll Tops Onside Irish Sports Star Monitor
Irish Rugby players emerged as the most marketable sports stars in Ireland in 2009, with Brian O’Driscoll identified as Ireland’s most admired sports personality in a new study carried out by leading marketing consultants Onside Sponsorship.
The annual Onside Sports Star Monitor found that in the past 12 months, Brian O’Driscoll had increased his admiration among the Irish public three-fold to de-throne Roy Keane from last year’s No. 1 spot.
Ronan O’Gara and Paul O’Connell have also benefited from their on-field performances with Grand Slam Champions Ireland, their province and more recently the Lions Tour, with both players rising up one place on the list to see rugby occupying 3 places in the Top 5.
Onside Sponsorships Managing Director John Trainor notes that “O’Driscoll’s star performance in our research reflects the Irish Rugby captains recent world class performances and the almost year-round coverage that he received in the media as a result of the various teams that he was involved in.”
In terms of sports played, the top 10 most admired sports stars among the Irish public sees rugby occupying 3 places, soccer and GAA (two Kilkenny hurlers) both occupying 2 places, with individual sports stars including boxer Bernard Dunne filling the remaining places. Golfing super-star Padraig Harrington remains in second place in the 2009 Onside Sponsorship list, demonstrating strong brand value despite a dip in performance on the course year on year.
Interestingly the O’Driscoll, Harrington and O’Gara ‘brands’ scored greatest admiration amongst Irish females, while in comparison males were more likely to single-out Irish sports stars including Roy Keane, Paul O’Connell and Bernard Dunne.
Onside Sponsorship consultants estimate that over €9 million was spent by brands on Irish celebrity endorsement deals over the past 12 months, a significant increase fuelled by the aforementioned Harrington, who received major new multimillion euro deals with brands including Wilson and FTI following his Open victories in 2008. Other personalities contributing to this overall sum include Brian O’Driscoll, who has major deals with global brands like Gillette and Adidas, Paul O’Connell with Adidas and Powerade, and Ronan O’Gara with links to Lucozade Sport and Adidas.
Looking ahead to next year’s list, Trainor notes: “Rugby success on the field has clearly translated into admiration by the Irish public for the sports’ main stars here in Ireland. With a potential place in the 2010 FIFA World Cup on the horizon, it will be interesting to see if Ireland’s soccer stars show similar increases to their rugby counterparts this year. Harrington is clearly a star that has wide spread admiration and will be among the top echelons of this list for many years to come”.
- ENDS -
To discuss further, contact:
John Trainor
Managing Director
Onside Sponsorship
(T) +353-1-479 0520 / (e) john.trainor@onside.ie
(m) 086-38 38 787 (w) www.onside.ie
• Onside Sponsorship is a leading specialist in sponsorship consulting and research services – With a proven track record and strong industry experience in a cross section of sectors, Onside is currently feeding into the sponsorship decision making of circa €50m+ of Irish sponsorship spend – working on many of Ireland’s premier sponsorships – on sporting, music, cause-related, broadcast and other platforms.
The annual Onside Sports Star Monitor found that in the past 12 months, Brian O’Driscoll had increased his admiration among the Irish public three-fold to de-throne Roy Keane from last year’s No. 1 spot.
Ronan O’Gara and Paul O’Connell have also benefited from their on-field performances with Grand Slam Champions Ireland, their province and more recently the Lions Tour, with both players rising up one place on the list to see rugby occupying 3 places in the Top 5.
Onside Sponsorships Managing Director John Trainor notes that “O’Driscoll’s star performance in our research reflects the Irish Rugby captains recent world class performances and the almost year-round coverage that he received in the media as a result of the various teams that he was involved in.”
In terms of sports played, the top 10 most admired sports stars among the Irish public sees rugby occupying 3 places, soccer and GAA (two Kilkenny hurlers) both occupying 2 places, with individual sports stars including boxer Bernard Dunne filling the remaining places. Golfing super-star Padraig Harrington remains in second place in the 2009 Onside Sponsorship list, demonstrating strong brand value despite a dip in performance on the course year on year.
Interestingly the O’Driscoll, Harrington and O’Gara ‘brands’ scored greatest admiration amongst Irish females, while in comparison males were more likely to single-out Irish sports stars including Roy Keane, Paul O’Connell and Bernard Dunne.
Onside Sponsorship consultants estimate that over €9 million was spent by brands on Irish celebrity endorsement deals over the past 12 months, a significant increase fuelled by the aforementioned Harrington, who received major new multimillion euro deals with brands including Wilson and FTI following his Open victories in 2008. Other personalities contributing to this overall sum include Brian O’Driscoll, who has major deals with global brands like Gillette and Adidas, Paul O’Connell with Adidas and Powerade, and Ronan O’Gara with links to Lucozade Sport and Adidas.
Looking ahead to next year’s list, Trainor notes: “Rugby success on the field has clearly translated into admiration by the Irish public for the sports’ main stars here in Ireland. With a potential place in the 2010 FIFA World Cup on the horizon, it will be interesting to see if Ireland’s soccer stars show similar increases to their rugby counterparts this year. Harrington is clearly a star that has wide spread admiration and will be among the top echelons of this list for many years to come”.
- ENDS -
To discuss further, contact:
John Trainor
Managing Director
Onside Sponsorship
(T) +353-1-479 0520 / (e) john.trainor@onside.ie
(m) 086-38 38 787 (w) www.onside.ie
• Onside Sponsorship is a leading specialist in sponsorship consulting and research services – With a proven track record and strong industry experience in a cross section of sectors, Onside is currently feeding into the sponsorship decision making of circa €50m+ of Irish sponsorship spend – working on many of Ireland’s premier sponsorships – on sporting, music, cause-related, broadcast and other platforms.